This is a scalable context timeline. It contains events related to the event March 2003: Animal Rights Activists Harass, Threaten Company Employees. You can narrow or broaden the context of this timeline by adjusting the zoom level. The lower the scale, the more relevant the items on average will be, while the higher the scale, the less relevant the items, on average, will be.

A number of small, loosely affiliated “ecoterrorist” groups begin to form, mostly in California and West Coast areas of the United States, though their operations are evident throughout the nation. Some of the more prominent groups include: the Animal Liberation Front (ALF—see 1976); Earth Liberation Front (ELF—see 1997); and Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC—see 1998). Generally, the groups’ ideology embraces the concept of using property damage to hinder or stop the exploitation of animals and the destruction of the environment. These organizations usually target the operations of companies in related industries, or sometimes terrorize executives and employees of these firms. The companies usually targeted include automobile dealerships, housing developments, forestry companies, corporate and university-based medical research laboratories, restaurants, and fur farms. As of 2005, no one will have been injured in these attacks, though the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) will predict that the steady escalation of violence from the groups may result in injury or even death. The groups will cause millions of dollars in damage to property and items, usually through arson, bombings, and vandalism. The “ecoterrorist” groups tend to be small, and made up of environmental and animal rights activists on the “fringes” of the mainstream movements who have become frustrated with the slow pace of change. Some members are also affiliated with one or another of the various “anarchist” groups. The ADL will contrast the typical “ecoterrorist” group with racist and white supremacist groups, noting that their organizational structure tends to be extremely egalitarian and sometimes almost nonexistent: “Unlike racial hate groups with established hierarchies and membership requirements, for example, an activist can become a member of the ecoterror movement simply by carrying out an illegal action on its behalf.” [Anti-Defamation League, 2005] The term “ecoterrorism” does not gain widespread usage until after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) will note that “members of Congress, conservative commentators, and the FBI [will join] in a chorus decrying the acts as ‘ecoterrorism.’” Charles Muscoplat, the dean of agriculture at the University of Minnesota—a targeted site—says: “These are clearly terroristic acts. Someone could get hurt or killed in a big fire like we had.” ALF spokesman David Barbarash (see 1998) says in response: “I mean, what was the Boston Tea Party if not a massive act of property destruction?… Property damage is a legitimate political tool called economic sabotage, and it’s meant to attack businesses and corporations who are profiting from the exploitation, murder, and torture of either humans or animals, or the planet.… [T]o call those acts terrorism is ludicrous.” [Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/2002]

A semiofficial logo for the Animal Liberation Front. [Source: Animal Liberation Front]The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) forms. It is widely considered the US’s most active “ecoterrorist” movement (see 1970s) and focuses primarily on attacking companies that perpetuate cruelty to animals, often in the form of animal experimentation. It is very loosely organized, and composed of anonymous underground cells that mount operations to rescue animals from what it calls “places of abuse” and, it says, to “inflict economic damage to those who profit from the misery and exploitation of animals.” ALF traces its origins to a group of British activists in the late 1960s called the Hunt Saboteurs Association, whose prime goal was to disrupt fox hunts. In 1972, according to the anonymously published “ALF Primer,” “after effectively ending a number of traditional hunting events across England, members of the Hunt Saboteurs decided more militant action was needed, and thus began the Band of Mercy.” The Band of Mercy went farther than its parent organization, and in 1974 two of its members, Ronnie Lee and Cliff Goodman, were jailed for firebombing a vivisection research center in Great Britain (see 1974). When Lee is released from prison in 1976, he and some of his Band of Mercy colleagues found the ALF. The organization first begins operations in Great Britain, but quickly moves to America and begins escalating events. Its first known operation will be in 1979, when ALF activists break into a medical school and release animals being used for research (see 1979). Before it establishes a small press office in 1991, ALF’s activities will be publicized and praised by a somewhat more mainstream animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). [Anti-Defamation League, 2005] The ALF primer explains the “leaderless resistance” model followed by the group: “Due to the illegal nature of ALF activities, activists work anonymously, and there is no formal organization to the ALF. There is no office, no leaders, no newsletter, and no official membership. Anyone who carries out direct action according to ALF guidelines is a member of the ALF.” The primer states the following as ALF guidelines: To liberate animals from places of abuse, i.e. fur farms, laboratories, factory farms, etc. and place them in good homes where they may live out their natural lives free from suffering. To inflict economic damage to those who profit from the misery and exploitation of animals. To reveal the horror and atrocities committed against animals behind locked doors by performing nonviolent direct actions and liberations. To take all necessary precautions against hurting any animal, human and nonhuman. The primer states: “In the third section it is important to note the ALF does not, in any way, condone violence against any animal, human or non-human. Any action involving violence is by its definition not an ALF action, any person involved not an ALF member. The fourth section must be strictly adhered to. In over 20 years, and thousands of actions, nobody has ever been injured or killed in an ALF action.” [Animal Liberation Front, 2002 ]

The original Earth Liberation First logo. [Source: Original ELF (.com)]The Earth Liberation Front (ELF), an extremist offshoot of Earth First! (see 1980 and After) founded in Britain in 1992, steps up the vandalism and violence of its parent organization. It consciously models itself after the Animal Liberation Front (ALF—see 1976) in having little to no hierarchical organization, and consists of what it calls “autonomous groups of people” who are “anonymous not only to the public but also to one another.” The ELF writes that it exists to “inflict economic damage on those profiting from the destruction and exploitation of the natural environment,” and “to reveal and educate the public on the atrocities committed against the earth and all species that populate it.” In a promotional video, “Igniting the Revolution,” ELF says it now knows “that to be successful in the struggle to protect the Earth, more extreme tactics must be utilized. Thus the Earth Liberation Front was born.” It first garners major US public attention in 1997, when ELF activists burn down a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) horse corral in Oregon (see 1997). [Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/2002; Anti-Defamation League, 2005]

One of several unofficial logos of the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty organization. [Source: Kitty Liberation Front (.com)]The BBC broadcasts a graphic documentary detailing the mistreatment and abuse of animals by Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), a British research firm. Angered animal rights activists in Britain begin to pressure financial institutions associated with HLS to drop their support of the company as a means to force it to stop performing animal testing. The campaign grows into the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) organization, which models itself on the tactics and ideologies espoused by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF—see 1976) and Earth Liberation Front (ELF—see 1997), among others. SHAC quickly migrates across the Atlantic to the US and into Europe; its activists will claim responsibility for a number of bombings and acts of vandalism and harassment. [Anti-Defamation League, 2005]

Kevin Kjonaas. [Source: Anti-Defamation League]Animal Liberation Front (ALF—see 1976) activist Kevin Kjonaas, the organization’s spokesman, is forced to testify before a grand jury as to his knowledge of an ALF “direct action” against a University of Minnesota research facility that released 166 animals from testing labs and caused some $700,000 in damage to equipment. Kjonaas also has his house raided by FBI agents. Instead of staying in the US and facing a second round of testimony, Kjonaas goes to Great Britain, where he becomes active with Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC), a British animal rights organization. Kjonaas will return to the US in 2001 and establish an American chapter of SHAC. He will continue to speak for the organization despite a 2004 arrest. [Anti-Defamation League, 2005]

Stephens Inc logo. [Source: RehabCare]Life Sciences Inc, a New Jersey-based holding company, buys Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), a British research company accused of mistreating and torturing animals as part of its research (see 1998). Stephens Inc, an Arkansas investment company, buys HLS’s bank loan and becomes its senior lender. The animal rights organization Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) launches a Web site called StephensKills that is designed to inform animal rights activists “of the cruelty that Stephens Inc invests in as shareholders” in HLS. Activists from Britain and America come to Little Rock, Arkansas, to protest against Stephens, in an action that results in 26 arrests. During the following months, Stephens employees are harassed and the company’s fax machines are jammed. Stephens finally sells its investment in HLS at a loss, while denying that SHAC’s pressure influenced its decision. [Anti-Defamation League, 2005] CEO Warren Stephens says the company had been “aware of the activists, but I don’t think we understood exactly what lengths they would go to.” [Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/2002]

Brian Cass. [Source: SuperVegan (.com)]David Blenkinsop and two other masked members of Britain’s Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC—see 1998) animal rights organization beat Brian Cass, the managing director of Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) with bats; a passerby who intercedes is sprayed in the face with tear gas. SHAC has for years accused HLS of abusing and torturing animals in its research efforts. American SHAC leader Kevin Kjonaas (see 1999 and After) says: “I don’t shed any tears for Brian Cass. He is responsible for 500 animals agonizing and dying every day at Huntingdon.” [Anti-Defamation League, 2005]

One of a number of semi-official logos for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). [Source: Seventh Generation (.com)]A number of moderate and more radical animal rights groups hold their annual conference at the McLean Hilton in McLean, Virginia. More “mainstream” groups such as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) are represented, as are groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which straddle the divide between mainstream moderate rhetoric and extremism, and frankly extremist organizations such as the Animal Liberation Front (ALF—see 1976), its affiliate environmental organization Earth Liberation Front (ELF—see 1997), and Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC—see 1998). PETA’s Bruce Friedrich tells a panel: “If we really believe that animals have the same right to be free from pain and suffering at our hands, then of course we’re going to be blowing things up and smashing windows.… I think it’s a great way to bring about animal liberation, considering the level of suffering, the atrocities. I think it would be great if all of the fast-food outlets, slaughterhouses, these laboratories, and the banks that fund them, exploded tomorrow. I think it’s perfectly appropriate for people to take bricks and toss them through the windows.… Hallelujah to the people who are willing to do it.” The panel members and audience applaud Friedrich’s words. ALF, ELF, and SHAC activists share a table, handing out pamphlets and T-shirts, one of which reads, “Words Mean Nothing… Action is Everything!” [Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/2002]

The American branch of the animal rights organization Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC—see 1998), flush with its recent success against Stephens Inc (see 2001-2002), begins targeting other US companies that do business with the British research firm Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS). The SHAC Web site explains, “Rather than protesting [HLS] itself, the SHAC campaign targets secondary targets—those companies that HLS needs so desperately to operate, but that don’t need HLS or the pressure that comes with doing business with them.” SHAC focuses on Marsh Inc, the firm that insures HLS. A February 2002 email to US SHAC members notes that British SHAC members have aggressively targeted Marsh, and reads in part, “Let’s show them that the US is no different and let Marsh know that… we are about to raise the premium on pain.” The email contains a list of March offices, phone and fax numbers, and email and home addresses of employees. The Web site provides maps to Marsh’s 60 American offices, along with a statement announcing that by “hitting” Marsh the group hopes to “attack HLS in a way they could never have predicted nor defend themselves against.” Soon thereafter, Marsh employees are harassed. One receives a letter saying: “You have been targeted for terrorist attack.… If you bail out now, you, your business, and your family will be spared great hassle and humility.” A Marsh executive’s home is doused with red paint. Another executive’s home is emblazoned with the slogans “Puppy Killer” and “We’ll Be Back.” In April 2002, SHAC activists escalate their activities, with a number of them gathering at a Marsh employee’s home in Boston, chanting, “[W]hat comes around goes around… burn his house to the ground,” while a message on the group’s Web site calls the employee, his wife, and two-year-old son “scum.” Twelve SHAC activists are arrested and charged with a variety of crimes, including extortion, stalking, threatening, and conspiracy (all charges will eventually be dropped). In July 2002, SHAC activists smoke-bomb two Seattle high-rises housing Marsh offices, forcing their evacuation. By the end of the year, Marsh drops HLS as a client, and SHAC proclaims victory; on its Web site, SHAC credits “those who smashed windows” as well as “those who held vocal protests outside Marsh offices and homes of executives.… No lawsuit, private investigator, or criminal prosecution prevented this victory. Until HLS is closed we will not apologize, we will not compromise, and we will not relent.” Later, other companies will also stop doing business with HLS after being pressured by SHAC. [Southern Poverty Law Center, 9/2002; Anti-Defamation League, 2005]

Jerry Vlasek, a Los Angeles heart surgeon and member of the radical Animal Defense League (ADL), says, in his view, it is acceptable to assassinate scientists working in biomedical research to save the lives of animals used in that research. “I think violence is part of the struggle against oppression,” he says. “If something bad happens to those people [animal researchers], it will discourage others. It is inevitable that violence will be used in the struggle and that it will be effective.” Vlasek adds: “I don’t think you’d have to kill too many. I think for five lives, 10 lives, 15 human lives, we could save a million, 2 million, 10 million non-human lives.” In 2004, Vlasek will be banned from entering Britain to attend a conference held by Britain’s Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC—see 1998) and SPEAK, an anti-vivisection group, for his remarks, though he will address the conference via video link. [Anti-Defamation League, 2005]

At 3 a.m., activists with the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC—see 1998 and 2002 and After) animal rights organization gather outside the Los Angeles home of a manager of a company that sells software to Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), a firm that for years has been accused by SHAC of abusing and torturing animals in its research efforts. The protesters yell through bullhorns, set off sirens, and leaflet the neighborhood. Afterwards, the SHAC Web site warns, “we’ll be back” and “we know where you live, we know where you work, and we’ll make your life hell until you pull out of HLS.” [Anti-Defamation League, 2005]

Activists for the animal rights organization Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC—see 1998 and 2002 and After) begin pressuring the biotechnology firm Chiron. Like other firms targeted by SHAC, Chiron does business with British research firm Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), long accused of abusing and torturing animals in its research practices. The pressure begins with SHAC activists protesting at the homes of Chiron employees. On June 11, 2003, the organization posts an anonymous message on its Web site, allegedly from a Chiron employee, telling SHAC members “how to bypass security at a Chiron office” and giving the names and Social Security numbers of Chiron staff. The message says to Chiron, “Send a fax to SHAC saying you will never use HLS again, and you can avoid paying for lawyers, security, and broken windows.” In August, activists calling themselves “Animal Liberation Brigade” and “Revolutionary Cells” claim responsibility for setting off two pipe bombs at the Chiron office in Emeryville, California. The bombs cause relatively minor damage, but a message on a SHAC Web site asks, “You might be able to protect your buildings, but can you protect the homes of every employee?” [Anti-Defamation League, 2005]

Shaklee logo. [Source: IAm4Kids (.com)]The “Animal Liberation Brigade” and “Revolutionary Cells,” two offshoots of the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC—see 1998 and 2002 and After) animal rights organization, bomb the offices of Shaklee Inc. in Pleasanton, California. No one is injured in the blast. SHAC has targeted Shaklee because its parent company, Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co., does business with Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), long accused of abusing and torturing animals in its research practices. (Apparently the fact that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), another animal rights organization, lists Shaklee as one of its “Caring Consumers” on its Web site does not affect the decision to bomb Shaklee’s offices.) The FBI offers a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the prime suspect in both the Shaklee and Chiron (see April - August 2003) bombings, Daniel Andreas San Diego of Sonoma, California. An anonymous email claiming responsibility for the bombing says that activists used a 10-pound ammonium nitrate bomb “strapped with nails.” Although the building sustains little damage, the email warns that “we will now be doubling the size of every device we make” and that “customers and their families are considered legitimate targets.… We gave all the customers the chance, the choice, to withdraw their business from HLS.” The email says: “Now you all will have to reap what you have sown.… You never know when your house, your car even, might go boom.… Or maybe it will be a shot in the dark.” [Anti-Defamation League, 2005]

Federal agents arrest seven people at their homes in relation to their activities as members of the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC—see 1998) animal rights organization. SHAC head Kevin Kjonaas (see 1999 and After) and two more SHAC officials, Lauren Gazzola and Jacob Conroy, are arrested in Pinole, California. Darius Fullner and John McGee are arrested in New Jersey. Andrew Stepanian, a member of both SHAC and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF—see 1976), is arrested in Long Island, New York. Joshua Harper, a self-described anarchist, is arrested in Seattle. These become known as the “SHAC 7,” and face charges of conspiring to intimidate and harass employees of Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) and trying to impede business through vandalism, stalking, computer hacking, email blitzes, telephone calls, and faxes. The indictment charges the seven with targeting other companies and shareholders who do business with HLS, whom SHAC has long accused of abusing and torturing animals, and says the seven posted personal information about company employees on its Web sites and encouraged followers to “operate outside the confines of the legal system” (see 2001-2002, 2002 and After, March 2003, April - August 2003, and September 2003). [Anti-Defamation League, 2005]

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